Marquez Letcher-Ellis flashes potential during Rice's run in CBI

Rice Owls forward Marquez Letcher-Ellis #12 controls a rebound defended by San Francisco Dons forward Matt McCarthy #10 during the second half of the College Basketball Invitational first round game between the San Francisco Dons and the Rice Owls at Tudor Field House in Houston, TX on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. The Owls defeated the Dons 85-76.

Rice Owls forward Marquez Letcher-Ellis #12 controls a rebound...

In the box score from Thursday's Rice-San Francisco meeting in the College Basketball Invitational, Marquez Letcher-Ellis' three blocks might stand out as much as who officiated the game.

In a lineup full of shooters and ball-handlers, that happens a lot for the athletic 6-7 sophomore forward.

Understated is two of those blocks coming in the last two minutes of the game while Rice was trying to protect guard Marcus Evans' efforts in the comeback 85-76 win.

Coach Mike Rhoades might have brought the sequence up himself if he wasn't asked about it after Thursday's first-round victory as Rice moved to 23-11.

"Quez doesn't know how good he can be, period," said Rhoades, whose team is in the CBI quarterfinals against Utah Valley (16-16) at 7 p.m. Monday at Tudor Fieldhouse. "I want to make him live with me for the next year so we can just grind him and drive him. He's so talented. He has so much potential. Potential to me is a dangerous word if you don't fulfill it. It doesn't mean anything. It's null and void.

"I tell him all the time (to) enjoy playing and try to keep getting better because when you're out there, he makes plays other guys in that game can't make. You saw those blocks. He ran down a couple loose balls. He's a guy who's guarding their 7-footer, and then he pushes the ball on a break and scores. There's not a lot of guys period that can do that."

Rhoades said Letcher-Ellis, like most of the other players, thinks he's crazy at times but the coach is that passionate about what the big man can be.

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"When we get his best like you saw (Thursday) at times, pretty darn good," Rhoades said.

The dirty work Letcher-Ellis does pairs well with Rice's fast-paced offense.

His efforts have saved some games for the Owls, including an overtime win over Southern Mississippi at home when he got a hand on a late inbounds pass to force a turnover immediately after the Owls turned the ball over.

There's no stat for it nor do players make all-conference teams for it, and that's fine by Letcher-Ellis.

"We don't really think about 'OK, I got a deflection here, but they're probably not going to talk about it,' " Letcher-Ellis said. "The guys that know basketball know when you make a good basketball play. As a basketball player, you try not to think about that too much. You try to stay in the flow of the game."

Agreeing with his coach on his potential, Letcher-Ellis said he'd love to improve his ball-handling skills more heading into the offseason.

He essentially plays with four guards in a motion offense. Letcher-Ellis' athleticism, though, fits well with a team that's likely to see more pull-up 3-pointers than a big man waiting on the block.

"For an athlete like me, a guy who really can score inside, it's a lot easier when you have guys creating off the dribble - four guys that can create off the dribble," he said. "It's a lot easier playing this type of offense than it was last year. It's a big-time offense for athletes that want to come play here."